"Münchner Klimaherbst 2018": Energy for the turnaround

Energy turnaround and digitalization - a step forward for climate protection, a step back in the fight for resources?

Climate change happens and bears enormous risks - even today! The energy turnaround and digitalization appear as promising building blocks to fight global warming. Smart grids are inevitable when the energy turnaround should be successful. Processes become more efficient, fossil fuels are saved. But what is the price? Rare earths, iridium, gallium, nickel or aluminium, that are required for the digital revolution, are finite resources. Do we have enough of them to implement a global energy turnaround? Where and under which conditions are they extracted? Do we have to consider efficiency and sufficiency more when thinking about a turnaround, even when energy sources like the sun and water are infinite?